Chinese Vendors Outpace the Market as Smartphone Shipments Grow 23.1%
Year over Year in the Second Quarter, According to IDC

July 29, 2014 12:19 PM Eastern Daylight Time

FRAMINGHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The worldwide smartphone market grew 23.1% year over year in the second
quarter of 2014 (2Q14), establishing a new single quarter record of
295.3 million shipments, according to preliminary data from the
International Data Corporation (IDC)
Worldwide
Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker. Following a very strong first
quarter, the market grew 2.6% sequentially, fueled by ongoing demand for
mobile computing and an abundance of low-cost smartphones. Second
quarter shipments were in line with IDC's forecast and all expectations
are that the market will continue apace in the second half of the year
and surpassing 300 million units for the first time ever in a single
quarter in 3Q14.

"A record second quarter proves that the smartphone market has plenty of
opportunity and momentum," said Ryan
Reith, Program Director with IDC's Worldwide
Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker. "Right now we have more than a dozen
vendors that are capable of landing in the top 5 next quarter. A handful
of these companies are currently operating in a single country, but no
one should mistake that for complacency – they all recognize the
opportunity that lies outside their home turf."

Despite a challenging quarter for Samsung, and to a lesser extent Apple,
the strong market demand boosted results for most smartphone vendors.
Emerging markets supported by local vendors are continuing to act as the
main catalyst for smartphone growth. Among the top vendors in the
market, a wide range of Chinese OEMs more than outpaced the market in
2Q14. By far the most impressive was Huawei, nearly doubling its
shipments from a year ago, followed by another strong performance from
Lenovo.

"As the death of the feature phone approaches more rapidly than before,
it is the Chinese vendors that are ready to usher emerging market
consumers into smartphones. The offer of smartphones at a much better
value than the top global players but with a stronger build quality and
larger scale than local competitors gives these vendors a precarious
competitive advantage," said Melissa
Chau, Senior Research Manager with IDC's Worldwide
Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker.

Smartphone Vendor Highlights:

Samsung saw the Galaxy S5 ship millions of units this quarter,
despite the criticisms leveled at it, while S4 and even S3 volumes
remained strong as more affordable alternatives. Collectively Samsung
lost 7% market share compared to a year ago, despite having one of the
largest smartphone portfolios of all OEMs. To maintain its position at
the top, Samsung will need to focus on building momentum in markets
dominated by local brands.

Apple's second quarter is always its seasonal low of the year,
but even more so this time in advance of the iPhone 6, with consumers
holding their collective breath for the long-awaited bigger screens.
Apple enjoyed continued success in the BRIC markets, a good sign that it
is building its footprint in emerging markets. Given the pent-up demand,
the third quarter could be a drought or a flood, depending on the timing
of the next launch.

Huawei's story centered on 4G LTE pick up, particularly in China,
as all three national carriers subsidized 4G handsets like the P7 to
encourage consumers to upgrade from 3G. Outside of China, large volumes
of its lower-cost Y series fueled growth across most regions. The
company continues to focus on broadening its global reach and the 2Q14
results show that the momentum is undoubtedly there.

Lenovo had a record quarter in China despite tremendous pressure
from local brands. During the quarter, Lenovo saw increased success from
the A788T, as well as the 3G A388T. And while its Motorola acquisition
is undergoing approval, Lenovo continued to gain traction in
international markets. While less than 5% of Lenovo's shipments were
registered outside of China in the second quarter of 2013, this share
nearly tripled in 2Q14, with emerging markets, particularly BRIIC
countries, picking up the largest volumes.

LG volumes were largely driven by its L series, helped by models
like the L70, which performed well in many markets including the United
States. With the G3 launched at the end of the quarter in Korea, greater
volumes are expected to show up in the third quarter.

Note: Data are preliminary and subject to change. Vendor shipments are
branded shipments and exclude OEM sales for all vendors. The vendor
names here reflect the parent company name, where Microsoft owns Nokia.
Motorola shipments will be counted under Lenovo once legal approval is
obtained.

In addition to the table above, an interactive graphic showing worldwide
unit shipments for the top 5 smartphone vendors over the previous five
quarters is available here.
The chart is intended for public use in online news articles and social
media. Instructions on how to embed this graphic can be found by viewing this
press release on IDC.com.

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About IDCInternational Data Corporation (IDC) is the
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